1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air cleaning system and more particularly to an odor removal system using wicking fibers incorporating a dry fine solid powder with chemisorptive reagents.
2. Description of Prior Art
An example of an adsorptive technique for the removal of odors is the use of activated charcoal as an odor removing element in a device to purify an air stream. U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,487 shows a filter for liquid or gases which includes activated carbon for removing odors during air filtration. The activated carbon is in an additional layer which is added to the filter material.
Conventional carbon adsorbents have a broad range of effectiveness against odors. However, such activated carbon adsorptive techniques of removing odor from an air stream are effective only for a relatively short time period, are relatively inefficient at low odor concentration levels, have performance which declines rapidly at higher relative humidities, and frequently result in a relatively high pressure differential across the activated carbon filter element. As a result relatively large quantities of activated carbon are required in such filter devices, however, even with the larger amount of activated carbon the relatively large pressure differential problem will still remain. These prior devices are usually operated mechanical on a cyclic bases.
It is desirable to provide a compact, economical air filter for the continuous removal of odors which avoids the problems of reduced flow rates, reduced efficiency at high humidities, and reduced removal efficiency over time.